Hair treating instrument and method

ABSTRACT

A comb for use in streaking or highlighting hair with bleach or dye has parallel side-by-side teeth disposed in a curved plane approximating the curvature of the head and curved radially outwardly at their outer ends to define foot portions. In use the comb is placed at an angle to the scalp, with the foot portions of the teeth holding strands of hair against the scalp. Alternate strands of hair are manually lifted between the teeth for treatment with bleach or dye.

United States Patent 1191 Sick [ Sept. 17, 1974 HAIR TREATING INSTRUMENT AND METHOD [76] Inventor: Willmar K. Sick, 34 Village Sq.,

The Village of Cross Keys, Baltimore, Md. 21210 22 Filed: Oct. 2, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 294,078

52 u.s.c1. 132/160 51 Int. Cl A45d24/00 [58] Field of Search 132/160,156,142,11, 132/49, 9, 36

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 754,949 3/1904 Wilcox .f. 132/156 1,180,433 4/1916 Robertson 132/11 R 2,300,437 11/1942 Solomon 132/7 2,604,101 7/1952 Helfgott... 132/11 R 3,552,403 l/197l Sestito 132/150 Primary ExaminerG. E. McNeill Attorney, Agent, or FirmCushman, Darby & Cushman [57] ABSTRACT A comb for use in streaking or highlighting hair with bleach or dye has parallel side-by-side teeth disposed in a curved plane approximating the curvature of the head and curved radially outwardly at their outer ends to define foot portions. In use the comb is placed at an angle to the scalp, with the foot portions of the teeth holding strands of hair against the scalp. Alternate strands of hair are manually lifted between the teeth for treatment with bleach or dye.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures HAIR TREATING INSTRUMENT AND METHOD This invention relates to hairdressing instruments and in particular to a comb-like instrument for use by a hairdresser in applying a hair-treating agent to distinct portions of a persons hair.

The technique of highlighting or streaking womens hair consists essentially of applying a solution of a hairtreating composition, such as bleach or dye, to separate and distinct portions of the hair. In order to achieve the desired appearance, it is necessary to apply the solution only to individual strands of hair, while leaving the adjacent hair untreated. The selection of the individual strands by the hairdresser is achieved in current practice by manually using the handle of a rat-tail comb or similar pointed instrument as a pick to raise alternate strands of hair away from the scalp by an in-and-out weaving motion. Alternatively, the head may be covered with a cap having a plurality of small apertures therein through which strands of hair are pulled by inserting and withdrawing a hook-like instrument.

The present invention provides a special comb-like structure which aids the hairdresser in picking up spaced-apart strands of hair with a pointed instrument. The comb has a set of rather widely spaced-apart teeth so that when the free ends of the teeth are placed against the scalp, each tooth end restrains a strand of hair against the scalp while alternate strands lie freely in the spaces between the teeth. The width and spacing of the end portions of the teeth should be substantial so that distinct strands are formed. It is necessary that the free ends of all, or substantially all, the teeth engage the scalp simultaneously because otherwise there will be too few strands made available to the hairdresser. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the teeth are disposed side-by-side in an arcuate path parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the teeth, and the free ends of the teeth terminate in foot portions which are adapted to engage strands of hair and hold them against the scalp.

The invention will be further understood from the following more detailed description taken with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the use of a streaking comb of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the comb of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the comb of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows 3-3 seen in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of a second comb.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, it will be seen that the illustrated comb-like instrument includes a body 12 suitable for holding with the fingers and a plurality of sideby-side teeth 14 projecting from the body 12. The body 12 is of arcuate shape so that the teeth 14 lie in an arcuate path curved about an axis, or center line, which is parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the teeth 14. The free end of each tooth 14 terminates in a foot 16 which is adapted to press a strand of hair against the scalp. A preferred contour for the foot 16 is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein it is seen that the end portion of each tooth 14 is inclined outwardly from the convex surface of the comb. The width of each foot 16 may be greater than the width of the remainder of its respective tooth 14, although as a practical matter it is move convenient to make the teeth 14 of uniform width throughout their length. The outer end of each foot 16 is provided with small teeth 18 or other projections which aid in holding the hairs of a strand against the scalp. In the preferred configuration, there are two small sharpedged teeth 18 separated by an arcuate groove 20 so that essentially all the hair of a strand being held by the foot 16 is retained within the groove 20.

It will be seen" from FIG. 2 that the free ends of the teeth 14, in top plan view (that is when viewed along an axis which is transverse to the teeth 14), lie in an arc. This concave configuration also assists in bringing the feet 16 into engagement with the scalp when the comb 10 is in use.

The comb 10' of FIG. 5 is essentially the same as that of FIGS. 14 except that the width of the teeth 14 and the spacing between the teeth 14' is smaller.

While actual dimensions form no part of the present invention, it may be stated that the teeth of comb 10' may be about one-eighth inches in width, spaced apart about one-sixteenth of an inch, whereas both the teeth and spacing between teeth in the comb 10 may be about three-sixteenths of an inch. The teeth and spacing in a conventional comb are, of course, substantially less than these dimensions.

In using the comb, the hairdresser first grasps a hank of hair with one hand (his right hand if he is righthanded) and raises the hank away from the scalp. Then, with the comb held in his left hand, he gently presses all, or substantially all, of the feet 16 against the head so as to clamp a plurality of strands 22 of hair between the scalp and the feet 16 while leaving alternate strands 24 free. He then releases the hank so that the strands assume the positions illustrated in FIG. 1. The clamping of the strands 22 is easily accomplished by virtue of the arcuate array of the teeth 14, together with the inclination of the individual feet 16 relative to their respective teeth 14 and the disposition of the feet themselves in a curve as illustrated in FIG. 2. It is only necessary to hold the comb at an angle, for example 45, to the scalp and then change this angle until the maximum number of feet 16 come into engagement with the scalp. Where the head is more convex, decreasing the angle will bring more of the feet 16 into engagement with the scalp. Where the head is less convex, increasing the angle will bring more of the feet 16 into engagement with the scalp. The small sharp teeth 18 make a clean division between held strands 22 and free strands 24, because their sharp edges can easily separate one hair from an adjacent hair.

Then, any long thin instrument, such as the handle of a ladies comb, is held in the right hand and passed along the upper convex surface of the teeth 14 at a location near the feet 16 so as to raise the free strands 24 away from the comb while maintaining their spacedapart relationship. Once this is accomplished, the comb is removed, the strands 24 are gripped with the left hand, and a bleach solution or other hair-treating composition is applied to those same strands with the right hand.

What is claimed is:

1. An instrument for use in selecting individual strands of hair to which a hair-treating agent is to be applied, said instrument having a set of parallel, spacedapart teeth disposed side-by-side in a curved path which approximates the curvature of a head, said teeth terminating in foot portions which are relatively broad in the circumferential dimension with respect to said curved path and relatively thin in the radial dimension with respect to said curved path, said foot portions projecting generally radially outwardly from the teeth, the free ends of said foot portions lying in a generally arcuate path when viewed along an axis which is transverse to the teeth, the free end of each foot portion terminating in two projections separated by a groove.

2. An instrument for use in selecting individual strands of hair to which a hair-treating composition is to be applied, said instrument having a set of spacedapart, side-by-side teeth, the longitudinal dimensions of the teeth being disposed in a path curved about a center line which extends in generally the same direction as the longitudinal dimensions of the teeth, the outer end of each tooth terminating in a foot portion which projects from its respective tooth in a direction outwardly with respect to said curved path, the outer ends of the foot portions being of substantial width and terminating in a path such that all of the outer ends come to bear against the head when the instrument is held at an angle to the scalp to thereby press strands of hair against the scalp while leaving alternate strands free to be raised away from the scalp for subsequent application thereto of a hair-treating composition.

3. An instrument as in claim 2 wherein the free end of each foot portion terminates in small projections which aid in pressing the hair against the scalp.

4. An instrument as in claim 2 wherein the foot portions of all the teeth lie in a continuous concave path which is curved about a line extending transversely to said center line.

5. An instrument for use in selecting individual strands of hair to which a hair-treating composition is to be applied, said instrument having a set of spacedapart, side-by-side teeth extending in a longitudinal di rection, the outer end of each tooth having a width sufficient to span a strand containing a plurality of hairs, each longitudinal edge of each tooth extending in a sharp projection so that said projections come to bear against the scalp when the instrument is held at an angle to the scalp to thereby hold a strand of hair against the scalp while the spaces between alternate teeth permit alternate strands of hair to be raised away from the scalp, the projections enabling a clear division to be made between held strands and alternate strands. 

1. An instrument for use in selecting individual strands of hair to which a hair-treating agent is to be applied, said instrument having a set of parallel, spaced-apart teeth disposed side-byside in a curved path which approximates the curvature of a head, said teeth terminating in foot portions which are relatively broad in the circumferential dimension with respect to said curved path and relatively tHin in the radial dimension with respect to said curved path, said foot portions projecting generally radially outwardly from the teeth, the free ends of said foot portions lying in a generally arcuate path when viewed along an axis which is transverse to the teeth, the free end of each foot portion terminating in two projections separated by a groove.
 2. An instrument for use in selecting individual strands of hair to which a hair-treating composition is to be applied, said instrument having a set of spaced-apart, side-by-side teeth, the longitudinal dimensions of the teeth being disposed in a path curved about a center line which extends in generally the same direction as the longitudinal dimensions of the teeth, the outer end of each tooth terminating in a foot portion which projects from its respective tooth in a direction outwardly with respect to said curved path, the outer ends of the foot portions being of substantial width and terminating in a path such that all of the outer ends come to bear against the head when the instrument is held at an angle to the scalp to thereby press strands of hair against the scalp while leaving alternate strands free to be raised away from the scalp for subsequent application thereto of a hair-treating composition.
 3. An instrument as in claim 2 wherein the free end of each foot portion terminates in small projections which aid in pressing the hair against the scalp.
 4. An instrument as in claim 2 wherein the foot portions of all the teeth lie in a continuous concave path which is curved about a line extending transversely to said center line.
 5. An instrument for use in selecting individual strands of hair to which a hair-treating composition is to be applied, said instrument having a set of spaced-apart, side-by-side teeth extending in a longitudinal direction, the outer end of each tooth having a width sufficient to span a strand containing a plurality of hairs, each longitudinal edge of each tooth extending in a sharp projection so that said projections come to bear against the scalp when the instrument is held at an angle to the scalp to thereby hold a strand of hair against the scalp while the spaces between alternate teeth permit alternate strands of hair to be raised away from the scalp, the projections enabling a clear division to be made between held strands and alternate strands. 